CNN Acquires Vargas' Immigration Film 'Documented'

(AP) CNN acquires Vargas’ immigration film ‘Documented’By BRETT ZONGKERAssociated PressWASHINGTONA former Washington Post journalist who later revealed he has been living in the country illegally since childhood has made a documentary about his experience and announced Tuesday that he is selling broadcast rights for the project to CNN Films.

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Jose Antonio Vargas told The Associated Press the CNN unit is acquiring his film, “Documented,” to be broadcast nationally in the spring of 2014. Vargas wrote and directed the film over the past two years.

In 2011, Vargas revealed in a New York Times essay that he has been living in the U.S. illegally since he was brought from the Philippines as a child to live with his grandparents. He grew up in California where teachers and school administrators helped him gain college admission, a driver’s license and employment. He later landed a job at The Washington Post where he was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize.

Just before he revealed his immigration status, Vargas began filming. He said he wanted to capture everything he was about to go through. He also set out to tell stories of those brought to the country illegally as children who would benefit from a path to permanent residency under the stalled U.S. DREAM Act.

Vargas now leads an advocacy group called Define American that is planning a campaign for immigration reform around the time the film is released.

Producers are also planning to release the documentary in theaters. Vargas wants to show it in Texas and other places grappling with a broken immigration system. This week, the film debuts at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, though Vargas can’t attend because he can’t leave the country.

Sean Parker, the founder of Napster and first president of Facebook, is the film project’s lead funder and executive producer.

Amy Entelis, a senior vice president at CNN who oversees the film unit, said Vargas takes the immigration story out of the context of a Washington political battle and instead “makes that story very pointedly human.” CNN won’t be advocating one side or the other in the immigration debate, she said.

In the film, Vargas retraces his migration from age 12 when his mother put him on a plane to California. He learned he didn’t have immigration papers when he was 16. For the film, Vargas sent a camera back to the Philippines to interview his mother, whom he hasn’t seen in 20 years.

In another scene, Vargas calls immigration officials to ask why he hasn’t been deported. He is told they cannot comment.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Vargas went to a campaign event in Iowa for Mitt Romney, a scene included in the film. He held a sign that read: “I am an American w/o papers.” Others attending the event didn’t understand why Vargas could not gain legal status with all his accomplishments.